Generally described, computing devices utilize a communication network, or a series of communication networks, to exchange data. Companies and organizations operate computer networks that interconnect a number of computing devices to support operations or provide services to third parties. The computing systems can be located in a single geographic location or located in multiple, distinct geographic locations (e.g., interconnected via private or public communication networks). Specifically, data centers or data processing centers, herein generally referred to as “data centers,” may include a number of interconnected computing systems to provide computing resources to users of the data center. The data centers may be private data centers operated on behalf of an organization or public data centers operated on behalf, or for the benefit of, the general public.
To facilitate increased utilization of data center resources, virtualization technologies allow a single physical computing device to host one or more instances of virtual machines that appear and operate as independent computing devices to users of a data center. With virtualization, the single physical computing device can create, maintain, delete, or otherwise manage virtual machines in a dynamic manner. In turn, users can request computer resources from a data center, including single computing devices or a configuration of networked computing devices, and be provided with varying numbers of virtual machine resources.
In some environments, the computing devices that communicate via the communication network can correspond to devices having a primary function as a computing device, such as a desktop personal computer. In other environments, at least some portion of the computing devices that communication via the communication network can correspond to embedded devices or thin devices that have at least one alternative primary function, such as household appliances having a separate primary purpose (e.g., a thermostat or refrigerator) while also providing at least limited computing functionality. In some instances, the local user interfaces of these embedded devices or thin devices are limited, and thus remote management may be required to implement some functions of these devices. However, remote management can in some instances be problematic, due to latency in communications with a remote management device and potential for private information to be inadvertently disclosed either at the remote management device or during communications with the remote management device. These issues may be more prevalent when the embedded devices or thin devices and the remote management device exist on separate communication networks or communicate over public communications networks.